Northwestern defeats Western Michigan 51-31

SARAH TROTTOAssociated Press Published: December 7, 2013 8:41 PM

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) -- Drew Crawford scored 15 points and had 9 rebounds to lead Northwestern to a 51-35 victory over Western Michigan Saturday night.

JerShon Cobb added 11 points and Alex Olah had 10 points for Northwestern (5-5), who snapped a three-game losing streak. The Wildcats scored the first six points and never trailed.

Crawford hit a first three-pointer with 17:46 left to give Northwestern a 27-13 lead. The Wildcats extended their lead to 20 when Crawford hit another 3-pointer with 7:56 remaining. Crawford, who missed most of last season due to a shoulder injury, scored 11 of his 15 points after halftime.

Shayne Whittington scored 12 points, and David Brown added 10 for Western Michigan (5-3). WMU dropped its 12th straight to Northwestern and haven't beaten the Wildcats since 1955.

Both teams struggled offensively. Western Michigan shot 24 percent from the field, and its 35 points is a season-low. Northwestern shot 33 percent. The teams were a combined 4 for 34 from 3-point range.

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Northwestern led 24-12 at halftime after shooting 36 percent from the field compared to Western Michigan's 24 percent. The Wildcats were 0 for 11 from beyond the arc while Western Michigan was 0 for 6. Cobb and Olah each had six points for Northwestern, which led by as much as 14. David Brown had six points for the Broncos.

Western Michigan reached the 20-point mark with 10:01 left on Whittington's layup to cut Northwestern's lead to 38-20.

The Broncos had been averaging 75.7 points per game and shooting 46 percent from the field.

The Broncos also committed 15 turnovers.

Northwestern was coming off a 69-48 loss to North Carolina State on Wednesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Wildcats shot 25 percent and scored a season-low point total. Cobb shot 0-for-7 and left the game with leg cramps.

Western Michigan beat Cornell 83-70 in its last game for its second straight win.